February 2025

 February is almost over! It has been a really enjoyable month. Much more relaxing than January. Of course we had our real life moments where we tell ourselves “only in Bangladesh.” Like when the air quality remains steadily on the top of “world’s worst air” list.🤢 I think the clean Kansas air will burn our lungs.😂 the smog has been really bad the past month. Sometimes I wonder if I should even hang my clothes outside to dry with the bad air and dry season dust. But I do anyways because like my brother says “we don’t die that easy.” We’ve been in Dhaka all month and it feels so good to catch up on things and get back into a routine that lasts longer than a few days. Although I will say after being gone so much in December and January it takes some getting used to being home all the time. 

Lonnie and Lanette Koehn and their three girls from Lobelville arrived February 15! We are so glad to have them here with us. Plum tickled would probably be a better description.😊 They have been working through jet lag and started in on language class. Paninna is teaching their class. So far their class hasn’t been on a real schedule because Paninna’s brother Gorge is getting married  March 1 and once the wedding is over than they will have class 5 days a week. It’s given them time to sleep, rest and get their senses in order. Which if anyone has ever been to the mission, sometimes it takes awhile to do such after arriving. Madison and Jaira and Annslie come over and spend the morning with us if their parents have language class on Saturdays, otherwise Annslie just comes during the week for all morning. It’s been so so good for my children to have other kids to play with. For sure Shania! She’s been the only pepper in the pot for far too long. Her and Annslie are 3 days apart in age. It’s been fun talking to another mom that has a wide age gap between children. Bless Lonnie’s hearts they are the first couple to spend two months here in Pink City since we moved. So there’s been a few kinks to work out at the guesthouse. Of course things decide to break right when they come. Toilets don’t flush, showers don’t work properly and then the generator switch blew one night during a rain storm then the power blinks and blinks. Guess they are getting a crash course in Bangladesh life. They haven’t asked to fly back home yet so they will be good solid stock to have around. In April we are looking forward to taking them to Khulna and showing them the place where they will be staying! 🥰One evening Doyle’s and Lonnie’s came over for supper and we had a “get to know you” evening. It’s been along time since we had one of those. It is really fun to be three couples again. Feels like a more rounded out group! It’s been such fun taking them shopping and showing them places. It’s my favorite thing about being the Dhaka couple is we get to host the new missionaries and any company that comes through. Doyle’s parents flew in the last week of this month and they are planning to stay for almost a month I think. Doyles brother Victor flew in a few weeks ago so he has been here awhile already. 

Clinic is busy as usual! Had a big girl come in for rhinoplasty. One day 7 cleft lip babies came. Jared met Dr Thaddeus May from the states one Friday when we were in UniMart. He is here doing some sort of research at the hospital where we take the children for their vaccines. Very friendly fellow!! Him and Jared message each other every so often, and he’s sent several cleft lip/palate babies to our clinic. He was very enthused about our program. It is indeed a small world, found out he is from Texas but he grew up in Kansas City. he went to Eastern Mennonite University. He wondered where we had went to college at and we told him Hesston College! Both of those colleges are like “sister colleges.” He said his friends went to Hesston! It’s rather humorous when we meet up with fellow Americans at UniMart, it’s so enjoyable visiting. Can hardly talk fast enough. 

Shania is her usual boisterous bimbo self. Her and Annslie are learning to play nice together which can be quite a chore for two toddlers. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have twins and now I’m finding out.😂 She has definitely started talking more since Annslie came! Now she says “mom” when she needs something.l instead of just whining. She wants to spend every minute of the day outside. She loves to walk along the median and pick flowers. The pink city maintenance men have noticed this and if they are out working along the road when Shania and I come by, they stop and pick a flower and give it to her. Of course she is all grins which is just what they are hoping for! Shania would eat all day if I let her. Anything… pretzels, Cookies, tomatoes, apples. The other day someone had dropped crumbs on the floor and I noticed her going around carefully picking them all up and eating them. Good for the immunity. She is starting to get quite vocal about somethings. If things are in a disarray in the house or outside she says “MESS.”😂 Hard to believe she is almost two. She has gotten so tall the past weeks. Went to Farmgate and got more fabric for some more dresses. Thought I had had the tailor put a generous hem in her last group of dresses but next time I will need to do it abit more! When Annslie comes over we spend a lot of time outside walking up and down the streets. I get asked if they are twins. They both have blonde hair and are the same height. Annslie has big brown eyes and Shania has big blue eyes. 👀 

Layton is LOVING school with Lonnie’s two older girls. Shana did two days of school with just Madison and Jaira. She wanted to kinda get a feel for how they learned and where they were in their books. Layton could hardly stand it. He said “I bet they are having so much fun with Shana.”😆 I quickly reminded him that after two days his turn to go back to school with Shana would come too. He is really into audio books lately. Spends hours listening to them. His latest favorite was “Charlie and the Chocolare Factory.” Never mind that Shana had just read it to him for story hour. Now he is working his way through Laura Ingalls Wilder books. One day he said “mom, panthers aren’t alive anymore are they?” I smiled, because I had that exact same fear after reading those books as a child. Layton has been doing so good with reading out aloud. Been doing our best to have him read us a story in the evenings. Just proud as punch over everything he is learning in school. Him and his friends continuing to make a lot of unholy racket and do strange activities in the afternoon. The latest is using their water guns and trying to squirt the neighbors two ankle biter dogs through the fence. Sometimes I tell them to stop and sometimes I don’t. They are very annoying dogs at times😂 One day Ritou brought over light up swords and Layton and him literally spent 3 hours riding up and down the streets on their bikes pretending to be guards. Layton has tried to tell Madison and Jaira all about his future dairy he is going to have with half angus cows. They aren’t quite as enthused as he is. Haha! Layton really likes the games they play at recess. I told him this is a good taste of what Kansas school will be like. 

The weather has been so gorgeous lately. I send the children out to play and I take a walk every chance we get. Feels like we shouldn’t waste this nice weather. I tell Layton that in a few weeks playing outside won’t even be an option when it gets hot. I’ve been getting up at 6:30 and going and taking a walk and it’s still chilly that early. The other ladies that are out walking are all bundled up in their shawls and burkas and here I am in my short sleeve dress and my flips. 

Shana got her security clearance! Which means she can get her work permit. Jared submitted her application right after the government fell here. He wonders if the reason it went through so fast is because there was probably no foreigners submitting applications since most of them left the country. Not one word has been heard about Jared and Doyle’s visas. So for now at least Shana and Lonnie are legal here. Jared is getting Lonnie’s name added to all the accounts and papers before his visitor visa expires so that way it cuts back on some of the problems we have been having. 

Well ok enough blabbing… Thanks for all the messages you all send. They are always very much enjoyed! Sounds like in March they will be looking for our replacements. We aren’t getting our hopes up because there are always so many ASAP needs and not enough names. “God knows” is what I tell myself when the unknown wants to make me feel insecure. Shana plans on teaching Layton some second grade before she leaves in case we need to stay longer. 

January 2025

 January 1: we didn’t stay up late and watch the new years end. Shania and I have been sick with colds so decided to hit the hay early. This is our first year in Pink City over New Years so we weren’t sure what sort of racket would occur. We were quite surprised! There were some fireworks but it was quiet enough that most of the family slept right through them! The ones that did happen were off and on for maybe 30 minutes. At Farmgate it was a deafening roar for 2 hours! We had such fun the past two New Years Eves watching the New Year in on our Siza Court roof but this year we didn’t feel the vibe.😂 Jared got up at 5:15 am and dropped Ron and Darla off at the train station and they headed for Rajshahi. Layton and Shana had school like usual. 

January 2: Jared and Layton headed off for the airport at 9 am to pick up Darrell and Brenda. They are here for revivals with Ron’s. It was so foggy that their plane had to circle the airport 7-8 times. Brenda said they were sitting in window seats by the wing and they couldn’t even see the wing! The airport was packed. Jared had quite some trouble with finding a parking spot. The lots were full and so was the parking garage. After he finally got them picked up he hustled them to Hotel Shuktara for some much needed sleep. Shana and I got enthused about making Mexican food for lunch, so we stayed busy with that this morning. Made enough for the freezer too. Around 4:30, Jared Shana and Layton once again headed for the airport to pick up Neil and Ang and their family (Shana’s family)!🥰 This time of the day the airport was emptier and parking wasn’t such a problem. They got back to pink city around 5:30 or so. Darrell’s got an Uber and showed up at 6 and we all headed off for supper at one of our favorite restaurants here in Bashundara. It’s the one on the 13th story with amazing roof top views of Dhaka. We got there and noticed they were sitting up for a celebration of sorts. Sure enough they were having a 3 day wedding celebration. That was really disappointing! Shana and her family went to a coffee shop for supper and Darrells and us went to Herfeys. After supper we took Darrells back to Farmgate where their beds were calling them. I always feel sorry for people their first few days here. I remeber that feeling all too well. A half drugged zombie like state of extreme fatigue. Neil’s came over after we got home for awhile and that was fun! I noticed Layton was being really quiet even though Lisa had sent him all sorts of fun surprises with Neil’s and wondered if he was getting sick. Sure enough at bedtime he got quite a fever. 

January 3: It was quite a night. When Layton runs a fever, he has bad night terrors. So I pretty much have to sleep right beside him so he can relax. Does anyone else’s children have that? It’s almost like he is delirious. Last time he didn’t even know how to find the bathroom. Worries me, but as soon as his fever goes down he is Normal again. I kept him on a religious Tylenol and Ibuprofen schedule and that helped immensely. Jared and Nathon hired a driver for Neil’s. He showed up and Jared made sure Neil’s got on their way. Later afternoon Jared and Darrell went to Danmondi to have a visit with Shurov. He finally has a job now! Teaching English classes at a nursing school. The visit seemed to go ok. He doesn’t plan to come to revivals. He acts like he wants to come to church and he doesn’t even have to work on Fridays but he never shows up. The children and I didn’t go to the visit. Layton couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the house. Darrell’s came for supper in the evening and we had an enjoyable visit and time. It’s fascinating hearing about their past travels to China and wherever they have all been. 

January 4: Jared got up early and took Darrell’s to meet Doyle at the Padma bridge. Traffic was amazing and he was there and back by 10. The driver came and shuttled Neil’s around again. They got back to our house around noon. I hired Lucky to come cook a full Bangla spread for them. Chicken curry, egg curry, vegetables, dal and rice! She was quite enthused to cook again. 😀 Took it easy in the afternoon and then in the evening, the driver came back and us, Neil’s and Nathon headed to Farmhouse Burger. After a big lunch like that no one was super hungry but we ate anyway cuz that’s what we do for fun here. It took 1.5 hours to get to the restaurant but we had great laughs and conversation! Shanas family and siblings reminds me a lot of mine. A lot of loud and chaos😂 

January 5: Jared opened clinic back up. He said Miriam was walking around real slow and Jon could hardly talk because of a bad cold! The rest of us took it real easy all day too. We were wore out. Who knows why? Neil’s flew out in the afternoon. Shana came home exhausted. I told her to go straight to bed! The poor dear didn’t even want food. When she doesn’t want food I know she’s tired! The evening was very quiet. The kids and I took a walk along the river, and Jared huddled under two quilts with his jacket on and shook with the chills for awhile. Ever since he got dengue he randomly gets these weird chills now and then but the pass and then he’s totally fine again. These tropical illnesses are very bizarre. 

January 6: worked on things around the house and packed for revivals. Anytime we leave to go anywhere here, we pack at least half the house. Pillows, blankets, and sheets for everyone in the family, towels, washcloths, toilet paper, the medicine cabinet, snacks, water bottles and PB and J and bread, books and toys to entertain the kids. It’s quite an ordeal. Since October we have packed up and went somewhere 8 times.😂 

January 7:  Left the house around 9:30 and stopped and picked Josna and Sumita up from the clinic. Got to Golpagang around 2 I think. Doyle’s rented the entire Anonda Guesthouse in Golpaganj for revivals. It is very nice. All the members, all the missionaries and the ministers are staying here. Some rooms had 3-4 beds in them so the singles stayed in those. Josna and Sumita thought the rooms were “onek sundor!” So that says a lot. The guesthouse had a huge chapel too, and the kitchen was up on the roof! This guesthouse is quite new. Some of it was finished in 2023 and some in 2024. It was so so nice to have everything in one building. Last revivals we were in the Nazarene church right behind this guesthouse. There’s ponds in front of and beside the church with no fences up, so either you are on the sidewalk or you are in the pond. With small children you can imagine how a mother’s nerves handled that situation. The rest of the afternoon people slowly arrived. They were all very enthused about the rooms and staying together. Ripon hired some amazing cooks. Anyways, it would not be a revival in Bangladesh without abit of drama. A gentleman had asked Doyle if he could invite some friends to the revival. Doyle said “5 but no more.” Welllllll my friends…… 40 showed up. Most were small children. Expecting food and nights lodging. There was no room! Doyle did find places for some to stay, and then he had the cooks use the supper food to make them all lunch and Ripon went and bought new groceries for supper. However, by the next morning they had all left. So not sure if they thought we were giving out free things or what??? 

January 8: Had breakfast at 8:30. The cooks made kichuri and boiled eggs. Church started at 9:30. Doyle kept things on schedule which is quite a feat to accomplish in this country. Bobby from Kulna came to interpret. He is so amusing to watch. Very animated! Sometimes we all sit and giggle at him, you just can’t help it! After the service, everyone went up to the roof for cha. Jared bought 300 cha cups and by the looks of things we should have bought at least 300 more. A lot of Shotti’s family came, Hridoy and Pinky came, our expelled brother Lewis from Kulna came, and other random community people. The men were worried that people were going to catch wind of our revival and just show up at meal time. So Jared had bought stickers for everyone that was at the church service to put on, that way if you stayed for a service you could eat. But they ended up not needing to implement it. The guards at the door were careful. We did have to turn a few away the one evening that we had a council meeting. 

January 10: Had communion this morning! That was really special. Josna hugged me hard afterwards and said “Didi I am so happy!!” It made me almost cry. Shotti hugged me for a long time and told me something about missing Lisa. Layton had so many questions about revivals. Last time we had them he was 5 years old so he couldn’t remember all the details tha happened at such an event. He called communion “that bread and bucket meeting.” I tried to explain to him before the service about how the bread was a symbol of Jesus’ body and the grape juice was a symbol of His blood. He wondered “why can’t they drink red Gatorade instead of grape juice?” I was grappling with how to explain that and he said “well I suppose they drink grape juice because that’s how it’s always been done.” I said “yes exactly.”😂 He seemed to understand that it was a service to remeber how Jesus died for our sins. I told him that once a person gives their heart to God and is baptized then they can participate but until then they just sit and listen to the service. Half way through the service he poked me and said “bread and grape juice would sure make a good snack right about now.”😂 he was fascinated at how Jared and Doyle filled up the basins with water for feet washing hence the “bucket” name he gave the service. The communion service had quite a crowd. All the memebers sat up front and the rest sat more towards the back. During the prayer for the grape juice quite a few walked out but looked they just left for some cha. The cooks made some amazing goat curry, pilau, sobji, and pyash for lunch. We stuffed ourselves full. And friends, that completed our 10th meal of rice in a row. We packed up our van up after lunch and headed back for Dhaka. We dropped Josna and Sumita off and got back to Pink City around 6:30. It felt so good to be home. 😍 Overall, The revival was encouraging. Not all the members came, but a majority. Michael was reaccepted, Hridoy and pinky  are wanting to become members, and our expelled brother Lewis shows interest in returning. Michael’s daughter Marcie came as well! She hasn’t been to any revivals or fellowships since we came. One humorous thing was Doyle asked Bobby (the interpreter) if he wanted to have a visit with Ron and Darrell. He said “no brother! If I need to visit I will talk with you. Darrell and Ron they have machine guns straight from Heaven.”😂 

January 11, Darrell’s had a driver bring them back into Dhaka mid afternoon. They got so sick at the start of revivals. I felt bad for them! Plus they have three other countries to visit when they leave here. They looked a little better and not so washed out! Ron’s came back by bus later afternoon. In the evening Nathon and Ron’s came for snacks and coffee. Nathon wanted to hear about revivals. He was grieved he couldn’t come but he had used up his holidays over Christmas to work on his new house. It was hilarious listening to Nathon and Ron’s talk about their early years together.😂 Darrells went and did their own thing, they like to be out on the city when they are here. Brenda was in search of her favorite dessert she likes here. 

January 12: Shana and Layton started school back up again. They are having school here at our house this week since the guesthouse is full. They just do it up in our bedroom. We take our foldable table up there and it works great! Spent the morning doing mom things and playing catchup. Jared had clinic. He came home and said Miriam broke her arm two weeks ago! She was walking down the street and fell somehow. We’ve been so busy we haven’t talked to her much since clinic has been closed. She had a drs appointment so Jared and Dr Elizabeth ran the show themselves. 45 patients. Jared came home quite tickled with how well it went. He said a year ago he never would have been able to do it without Miriam but his Bangla has improved enough that they managed fine!! Layton’s friends came over mid afternoon. If we are home, They usually show up around 4. They make a fearsome racket. But I have decided this is normal boy behavior? Some one clue me in. Anyways, they got a long piece of rope and tied it between two trees, and tried to make a huge slingshot. They tied a basket in the middle and that was supposed to be the holder for things to go in. I think at least 3-4 boys were all trying to figure it out at once. Kinda look like there was maybe one brain between them all.😂 Nathon came over in the midst of the hub bub and found the situation quite hilarious! He came and cooked supper for us and Ron’s. He made his amazing beef, kichuri and tomato Tok. He put Jared Shaka and I all to work, chopping up vegetables, washing rice and dal. It was so much fun all cooking and talking together! One of those things I will always remember. Of course we had to discuss Amish😂 Shana tells Nathon that if he wants to marry an Amish girl he has to grow an Amish beard and have at least 10 children and he is now reconsidering🤣 Ron’s came for supper, and more fun and laughs was had! It was SO enjoyable. The food turned out excellent. 

January 13: Jared had clinic, and Shana and Layton had school. It feels good to have some semblance of order in our

Life again though it may be short lasting. The girls at the clinic wanted to cook a meal for Ron’s and us. Shania has been having bad diarrhea ever since revivals so Shana and I and the children stayed home and Jared ate with them when he was done with the patients. I was kinda relieved we couldn’t go because I was peopled Out. When Shania took her morning nap I sat on the couch and did not do one blessed thing for 1.5 hours. I eventually scraped myself off the couch and my soul felt renewed and ready to host and be with people again. Started up laundry and life continued on. Jared took Ron’s to the airport at 3. Came home and rested and had supper. At 9:30 Doyle’s and Bruce’s arrived at the guesthouse. At 10:15, we trotted back to the guesthouse and told Darrells bye and Jared headed back to the airport to drop Darrells off. 

January 16: Doyle’s and Bruce’s came over late afternoon so that we could tell Bruce’s good bye! It’s sad to see them leave, we so enjoyed being with them for the three months they were here! They took such good care of the Kulna house and got some things fixed even. 😊 Spent the day getting ready for Jared’s parents coming tomorrow! Later afternoon I looked outside and here the guard had a guy with his hands tied behind his back and a rope around his neck. 10 other men were escorting him down the street. No idea what he did or what happened. Jared came hope a short while later and said they had tied the guy to the pole by gate up front. Not sure if it was a case of public shaming or what. 

January 17: Bruce’s made it through immigration. An angel definitely went before and prepared the way with their visa problems. Jared’s parents flew in around 9. We found a spot in the parking garage and eagerly waited by the gate. Layton was certain they would never come. While we waited we noticed a flight that had come in from Madina. Hundreds of Muslim people came through the crowd with their white boxes that had holy water bottles in them! Wonder if it really is special water or if it is just tap water and someone is making a killing off of it.😂 

Folks in law eventually came. Jared had hired the same guy we always hire to help them through the snarl in the airport! We packed them up and headed for Pink City! 

Well here is where I quit writing.😬 Anyways… we’ve been doing lots of fun things with Jared’s parents. 😍Went to Golpagang and Khulna, Farmgate to get Wayne a suit and some Sunday shirts, showed them Badhundara, ate at our favorite restaurants, rode the metro, went to clinic several days, Jamuna Future park, etc. One night they offered to watch the kids so Jared and I could go on a date night. That was very nice! Jared’s mom has been keeping a detailed trip report so if you have more questions about they did message her and ask for her chat link.😊 I meant to do a better job detailing what we have all done but time got away from me and I figured being with them was more important then always writing every day!!! The children are very much loving all the attention they are getting, it will be a sad day when when papa and Grammy leave. Layton has already told me that he is NOT going to the airport. I said “well dear hopefully in 6-9 months we will be home for good then and we won’t have to say all these good byes.” 

Some funny things from Layton: “I wish you were like Brock’s mom. When Lisa says “we will see” Brock says that always means “yes” but when you say it it’s always a “no.” 

“Life was sure a lot more peaceful when there was just three of us instead of 5.” 

“You know my ears can hear things a lot better than yours! Yours are old but mine are newer so they work better.” 

“There is no way Santa is real because if he really was real, he would burn his bootie when he went down the chimney.”

Shania has really started talking. She says a lot of words. It amazes me that she is talking so young because Layton didn’t talk until he was 3. She isn’t even 2 yet. She is showing some interest in potty training so got her a potty seat and hope to tackle that next month. She wants to always wear shoes all the time, even to bed. As soon as I give her a bath and put on her Jammie’s she goes and gets her sandals and wants them right back on. Shana bought her a pair of purple butterfly wings that strap onto your back like a back pack and she wears those things a lot. Any thing dress up she LOVES. It brings me such joy to see her little girl antics. If she finds any hair clips or hair bows laying around she wants me to put them in her hair even if she already has several in. Everything is either “pretty” or “so soft.” She may be girlie and like girlie things but man alive can she stand her ground.😬 She can go from being happy and cute to absolute tears of madness and grief in no time at all. But then, what woman isn’t like that? 

December 2024

A lot of normal living but we had some interesting activity. Tried to have school on as much of a normal routine and schedule as we could. Jared closed clinic down December 10. Dr Elizabeth was taking her family to the Maldives so closed it a-bit earlier than usual. 

December 14: This evening was our CSI Christmas supper. We hosted it at the clinic. Seems to make the most sense to have it there because everyone other than us and Nathon live within walking distance of the clinic. I wasn’t sure what the menu should be this year. A few weeks prior Jon told Jared that “it’s too much work for Brianna to cook and haul the food clear from pink city. Pizza is fine.” We caught the hint and ran with it.😂 10 large pizzas from the Hut and a fix and mix bowl of cabbage salad and a cookie sheet of chocolate cake. I tell you there was hardly any left!!! It became a bit of a competition between Miriam’s boys and Nathon who could eat the most pizza. The winner was one of Miriam’s boys who had 11 pieces in total. The three participants all looked rather miserable. Haha! Even the ladies had 4-5 pieces a piece! After the meal they all wanted to sing Christmas songs so we did. Well I should say the Bengalis did and Jared and Shana and I tried to keep up and sing along. 😂 At one point Shana and I just lost it and died laughing! They sang a whole bunch out of our church songbooks that we didn’t even know. At one point they said “now you three need to sing one like in America, you know like with all those voices.” Well Shana and I are not singers so Jared said “you all sing and then we will try and do voices.” Well they sang so fast and off tune that it was rather hopeless.😂 Miriam’s husband was the self appointed song leader and boy did he give it his all. He is a strange cookie let me tell you. Jared says he only needs to be around him about once a year. Anyways… It was really enjoyable. Several messaged Jared afterwards and said how much they enjoyed it so that was really special! Gave Josna and Sumita and Miriam their CSI Christmas gifts. We gave them jackets or sweaters and then Josna and Sumita got back packs and Miriam got a new purse since hers looks quite worn. Josna and Sumita are always asking me for bags and luggage when they need to go on a trip and I get a little weary of it. So they were pleased with their backpacks. I was so pleased with my clever idea on what to get them, however my joy was very short lived. The sweater and jackets were a total flop. They all told me to take them back and get different sizes and different colors. I had got Josna and Sumita jean jackets cuz every time I wear mine they carry on so about how beautiful it is. I got Miriam a beautiful Lacey grey sweater but she said she wanted pink or green.😂 I was so frustrated. I had asked them what they wanted and they wouldn’t say so I struck out on my own. When they had all their complaints about their sweater and jackets, I just gave them money and told them to buy their own gift because I knew what would happen if I did try to return their jackets and sweater back to the Dokan and try to exchange them. They would have kept complaining and it never would have been quite right so I said “this is enough.”  Last year I bought them all kameezes since that’s tradition here, but none of them ever sewed any of them. So we wrote in our books that clothing is not a good gift idea.  Anyways… I’m glad it’s the last time we have to deal with that.😂 I gave Lucky a sweater and then gave her girls the rejected Jean jackets and she was so grateful and thankful! Her eyes just shone and her girls were so enthused about the jackets, they even wore them to the Christmas supper! 

December 16: Victory Day! We weren’t quite sure what to expect this year for victory day. It’s like the 4th of July in the States. Since the protests back in July and August we weren’t sure if it would be celebrated or not since the interim government has gotten rid of some national holidays here. This one was celebrated in big style plus the “victory” of getting Sheik Hasina out of the country was thrown in the celebration as well. The “Liberation War” it’s called. Anyways, Pink City maintenance men and groundskeeping men were hard at work for a whole week before the celebrations. They repainted all the black and white strips on the curbs and medians, trimmed the bushes, planted winter flowers, put up a huge tent, set up 26 little food vendor tents along the street, hanging up Bangladesh flags, stringing lights up on both sides of the street, hanging up more banners and flags etc! It was quite entertaining to watch at times. We bought tickets to attend the food vendors. The 16th and 17th after 4 pm, they had pitas, fuska, chapoti, cha, tandoori chicken, naan, lots of different sweets, other rice dishes, etc. Bothe evenings Shana and I made multiple rounds to all the food booths.😂 we will leave it at that. Haha! The food booths were all ran by Pink City ladies and families or maids so that was neat. Met some more of our neighbors. It was loud the one evening until almost midnight… loud music, fireworks, etc. We just had the children sleep in our bedroom cuz there was no way they could sleep with all that ruckus going on. It was kinda a sad day when all the decorations and tents got taken down! It was such a neat community feel. 

December 18; Shana and Josna and Sumita all boarded the bus at 7:30 and headed to Dineagpur. Josna and Sumita have been dropping broad hints ever since we came about going to their village with them at some point. Jared told them we could this winter, since it’s our last winter here. Anyways… they got to Josna and Sumita houses around 2:30 or so. Shana messaged me and said “this is the real experience.” I didn’t know if that was good or bad. 😂

December 19: Jared and I and the children left the house by 7 and headed for Dineagepur. I’m not going to lie, I did not want to go no more than nothing. But everyone else in the house was enthused about going so I decided I better get my big girl panties on whether I wanted to or not. The roads there were excellent! We didn’t have any jams the whole way there. Got there around 2:00. Was so interesting to see their village. Sumita had a lot of family living in her house. Shana spent night there. The poor dear had quite the experiences at night with friend mouse that kept making its appearance. Sumita house is much older and it’s not in very good shape. Josna’s house is only 10 years old and you can tell it is in immaculate condition. Her family takes meticulous care of what they own! Both houses have tin roofs and are made from mud and brick. Once a week they give the houses a fresh coating of mud/manure mixture. We stayed at Josna’s house. Sumita’s house is so small. People just sleep on thin prayer mats on the floor. Not really privacy for anyone. Josna’s house had three big bedrooms. In their courtyard they had stalls for the animals. One for the bull, one for the sheep, one for the cows and calves, etc. Josna had both an outdoor and an indoor kitchen. We took so many blankets and pillows along!  Was glad we did because the bed was basically just wood and cardboard with a thin mattress on it. We put a soft blanket down and it wasn’t bad at all!! Both children slept in bed with Jared and I so we stayed cozy warm. The next day we took Sumita and several family members and Josna along to Sumita’s sisters place for lunch. Maybe an hour drive. It was rather humorous, because when we got there I noticed her brother in law was wearing Jared’s old pants, one of the children had on Layton’s old shirt, and another child was wearing Layton’s old sandals, and one of her nieces was wearing Whitney’s old dresses and Josna was wearing Lisa’s old sandals.😄 it is nice to know that when we give them our old clothes that they give them away! Anyways, lunch preparation was still underway when we got there so they took us on a walk. Walked through a forest that had “normal” trees in it! Jared said it reminded him of Colorado. We were maybe a mile or two from the India border. Walked back and Shana and Layton handed out some of their Christmas goodie bags that they made. After lunch we headed back to Josna and Sumitas houses. Spent the evening at Josna’s house, being with her family. Once again they cooked up a feast!!! Fish and duck this time. They did Muscovy duck and that stuff tastes excellent. I wasn’t so sure about it but it was delicious. Muscovy tastes more like roast beef than the other types of ducks we have eaten. This actually had some meat on the bones and wasn’t all blubber. The next morning we got up early and left at 6 am. Jared had paperwork to do and we needed to check on the clinic to keep the robbers away. Got back into Dhaka at 11:30! Our house felt like pure luxury after being in the depths of the village! Our area rug, our couch, our filtered water, and best of all our TOILETS. (If you know you know.) 

December 25: lots have messaged and wondered what we did for Christmas, so here’s a report😃 The children could hardly wait to open their presents. They were both quite tickled with what Santa brought them! We left at 9 and headed to the zoo. It was the perfect day for the zoo. Cool enough that we didn’t break a sweat once. Spent a couple hours there. The monkeys were going crazy. Shania was not a fan of them. She loved the lions and tigers though… she kept meowing and growling at them! Came home and rested for a while and then we dressed up and went to the Woodfire Grill Steakhouse. It’s an American steakhouse and more on the pricey side. We only go there for special occasions. Anyways, it’s up on the 14th floor so the views of Dhaka were beyond impressive!!!!!! What surprised us the most, was we walked into the restaurant there was a Christmas tree, and there was Christmas music playing. “Angels we have heard on high, this little light of mine, oh holy night, joy to the world…” The workers were all wearing Santa hats and there were other Christmas themed things around. I know this doesn’t sound like anything because this is extremely normal to Americans but in this Muslim dominated country, to walk in on all that joy and hear real English songs about Jesus birth was almost too much. I wanted to cry. It felt like home, felt familiar and felt like it was normal to be a Christian. Shana said it felt so much like home that she felt like she should stop at Walmart on the way home.😂 if only… anyways, after we paid our bill we discovered the meat was all on sale. So mind you all 5 of us ate for less than.$50. Probably couldn’t do that at home. 

December 26: Checked on the clinic and Jared went to the bank. He was quite stressed about his bank issue. It’s such a mess trying to get things accomplished at the bank when none of us here have a visa. Anyways him and I said some prayers and he was able to accomplish what he needed to do and it didn’t cause any account problems. We stuck our noses in the wind for Kulna! Got there around 4:30. We had a fun Christmas supper At Bruce’s. Bruce had went to some pig farm aways away and found a farmer that would sell him a ham from a young pig. Mavis brined it for three days. It was delivious!!!! It was a little More chewy than the ham at home but we didn’t care one speck. the kids just devoured it! She had the kulna house all decorated for Christmas. Greenery and ribbon, little lights, candles. They are taking such good care of the house. Bruce doesn’t let much grass grow under his feet. 

December 27: Went to Hridoy and Pinky’s wedding today in Kulna. Hridoy is our member Shanto’s oldest boy. Hridoy is not a member so this is why the wedding was more of the traditional Christian/catholic service. We all piled on Rick Shaw vans. Jared said it was his o ly chance to say he went to a wedding on a rickshaw!😂This morning they had the “guy holud” which is kinda like our “night before” supper. It has its own sets of traditions. Typically they have it the evening before the wedding but this time they had it the morning of the wedding. When we got there at 9:30 We all crowded into Shanto’s house when we got there and shanto prayed over pinky and Hridoy who weee sitting cross legged on the floor. Some ladies that were all decked out in their gold and red were gathering things that were on the floor around Hridoy and Pinky. Shanto wanted Krystle and I To help. In fact he had us come up to the front of the crowd during the prayer. 😮Krystle and I had to carry pots down to some pooker with two other ladies. The rest of the guests followed. The one lady carried a board with a little oil pot that had fire in it and we all had to walk behind her. We filled the pots with holy water and then walked back to Shanto’s. We were told we could participate in this particular tradition since we were married women. I wanted Shana to get involved too but they said she had to just watch since she was single. Then the married ladies had to stand around the lady that was crushing the seasonings and touch her arm while she crushed the one seed pod thing. Hridoy and Pinky were sitting cross legged on top of a table Then one by one everyone rubbed the seasoning mixture on Hridoy and pinky’s faces and fed them tiny bites of fruit or sweet pudding. When it was my turn I had to ask Hridoy how to do it. Hridoy kept looking at me and laughing. Pinky looked tired. After that was over, Shanto and his boys jumped in the poker for a quick bath to wash off all the stuff of their arms and faces. people are changed their clothes into their saris. Shana watched them get the bride ready. They had a religious service. Pinky is catholic so a catholic pastor married them. Afterwards they served a huge meal of rice, vegetables, dal, fish and goat curry. Really good. Shania was mad because she was starving hungry but it was so spicy that she sat there huffing and puffy and crying with her tongue sticking out. 😜 that girl isn’t afraid to show her emotions. We left the wedding right after lunch. They said the celebration was over other than their photographer was going to do pictures down by the river yet. I felt bad what a mess there was for shanto to clean up. People had spent night in the old church and in their house. There were back packs everywhere! They had served kichuri to everyone for breakfast. Shotti had to pen up her ducks because they had just set the leftover bhat in a bowl on the ground and all of a sudden we saw the ducks just going crazy with eating the leftover kichuri.😂 

December 28: Shana and the children took a bunch of gift bags out behind the kulna house and walked down that trail and handed out 14 of them to little kids they saw. One mom showed up at the gate  and was mad that her child didn’t get one. Bruce yelled outside “sesh!” (Finished) After we left kulna we went to Nathon’s parent’s house for cha. Nathon wanted to show us his house that him and his dad are building. It looks like it will be a really nice. It’s Duplex style which means two stories. He said in 2 months the framework, walls and roof should be done. It’s going to have two bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs I think. I had given him some sugar cookies the last time he was at our house to give to his ma because last year I made her some and she loved them. 🩷 When we got there she told me that she had hid them so no one else in the house could eat them. 😂 Nathon thought Shana should try driving his dad’s scootie so she did. Nathon’s ma just laughed and laughed and said she would never try such a thing. Nathon told her that Brianna had a scootie in Dhaka and that American women aren’t afraid like Bengali women.😂 it was good to see Nathon again. We miss that guy when we don’t see him for a week or two! 

December 31: Well well here it is the end of the month already. Ron and Darla Friesen flew in today. He is one of our revival

Ministers. Jared got them from the airport and then they came for lunch. Did cinnamon rolls and taco soup. Shania has been fevering off and on the last day or two so I was very glad for Shana’s help! 

November 🍁 (a lengthy sort of read😊)

November 4: A regular day turned into a field trip. Jared wanted to take the children to an outdoor play area we had stumbled upon awhile ago. So after naps we packed up and headed there. It was very clean and wasn’t that expensive to get into! Both kids really enjoyed it. Jared and Layton noticed that they had a big bumper car area so for a dollar they went and did that! Layton could hardly smile bigger. He’s getting into this phase of boyhood where he wants to drive anything with a motor. I told him “go bump into something, your car is designed to do that!” Jared rode with him since he hadn’t ever done it before. He said “no mom, I’m being careful, I don’t want to break anything!”🤣 Jared told him next time that he would get a car too and he would show him how bumper cars really works!! Haha! I was so proud of him. A year ago he wouldn’t have dared left my side to do something like that, or he would have wanted me to do it with him instead of Jared. Jared spends a lot of time with Layton in the evenings and it has made such a difference! Layton is more secure and seems like it has eased a lot of his fears. It will be a big adjustment to go home and have daddy at work all day! There was an outdoor food court there so grabbed abit of supper. Places like this are so nice for my kids! Gives them social interaction as well which they really need. Shania had no fear and was climbing up backwards up the slides. There was a big blow up bouncy castle that was on the shape of a monkey and that scared her. She kept telling Shana “eyes eyes!” And pointing at the huge cartoon style monkey face on the front.

 11/9: Carls and Linferds flew in around 9. Linferd and Teresa are from Cartwright. She is Judith’s big sister. They came for lunch. Shana helped me make grilled chicken, pasta salad and fruit salad. I was so thankful for her help! While we cut up the fruit and vegetables we sat at the dining table and chattered. Her and I chatter a lot.😂 Anyways Shania climbed on the table and perched her bootie on top of the no bake cookies I had just made and proceeded to steel handfuls of veggies and fruit any chance she could. After lunch Carls and Linferds were doing their best to stay awake so we took them on a drive. Took them to Siza court so that Carls could show Linferds where they used to live and then showed them the old guesthouse too. Every time we drive down that street and smell that specific smell I am overcome with such gratitude and thankfulness that we could move to pink city. Relief is the right word. We had good friends at Siza court but pink city is so much better for children and teacher! 11/10: Shana went and got dim and ruti for everyone for breakfast! Gave the guards the leftovers. Left Pink City around 9. Got aways down the road only to discover that the main road we take to Rajshahi was closed. Went on a 3 hour goose chase through all sorts of random back streets that wound in and out of construction. Eventually we made it back to the main road. We also enjoyed several jams in the mixture. Linford and Carl hopped out a few times to try and clear the jams up. Sometimes white skin helps! At one point Layton wearily called out from the backseat “are you SURE we aren’t back to where we started?” We all died with laughter😂 Eventually we got going again. Got to Michael’s around 7ish. I was glad to be out of the van. Some of us were blessed with car sickness but rallied quite quick when Monica dished out the pilau and chicken curry!!!! That woman’s cooking is so delicious. 😋 They were really enthused to see Carls and Linferds. We didn’t stay too long because our beds were calling. Stayed at Royal Raj. That place is so luxurious which felt so good after all the bumping and jostling on the roads. Took Layton for a quick dip in the pool before bedtime yet. The water was so cold that he didn’t last long in there. Bed felt good after being cramped in the van! We were a tight fit in there but we didn’t want to hire a driver and have two cars.

 11/11: Had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Michael’s around 10. Breakfast at Bangladesh hotels are pretty much all the same… Fried rice, chicken curry, Bangla noodles, ruti, boiled eggs, rice pudding, and fresh fruit. Michaels seemed happy! Monica really enjoyed showing us her animals. Shania remembered the goat and was plum tickled. She did not want to sit still in the living room while we visited, she kept wanting to go back and look out at the animals. So her and I spent most of the time watching the chickens hop around. She just LOVES animals. Now Monica has added 2 rabbits to her herd of animals. She showed us her and Marcie’s gardens and her flowers up on the roof. She also has a little outdoor kitchen with a tin roof over it up there too! The neighbor had some rice drying on the roof and she came up there and swished it around with her feet so it would keep drying. Monica seemed really enthused with all her projects! She has recently started sewing for other people too. She was busy sewing clothes for a wedding that was coming up for some aquaintences. It made me feel good to see her happy and enthused about her projects. She didn’t even cry when we left this time! I wish we could transplant Marcie into an American youth group. I think she would blossom. She is such a beautiful girl! It just looks like she has no motivation. Monica says she does cook a fair bit for them and she enjoys that. She used to go to school to get some type of nursing degree but she isn’t pursuing that at this time. Not sure if it’s because of money or what?! After we finally pulled ourselves away from Michael’s we headed to Kaligonj. Jared and I had never been there before. The GPS optimistically told us four hours but by the time we dodged buses, trucks and every thing else we shared the road with it was more like 6-7 hours. We did stumble upon a cutesy little resort for lunch. That’s one thing that drives me crazy here with traveling. At home you don’t think twice about eating on the road. But here you never know if you will find a place to eat that’s decent or will they be open or will they have child friendly food, or will it be clean? Felt like we found a pot of gold finding this resort. It was beautiful and Linferd and Teresa took my kids outside on a walk while we waited for our food. My children are lapping up all this “grandparent” attention they are getting from Carls and Linferds! Layton always hopes “one of those girls” will sit by him in the van! 🥰 anyways, we eventually made it to Kaligonj. The next challenge was to find Boli and Elizabeth’s house. Oy…. Driving in the dark here is something else. Jared did so good and I was so proud of him!!! He twisted and turned down all sorts of tiny village roads and eventually we made it. Boli and Elizabeth don’t really live in a town but more of a settlement type place. Layton was glad that they had a grandson to play some soccer with! This couple is in their 60s maybe?? She suffers from arthritis and pain and chest pain. Due to her poor health they haven’t ever been to revivals or fellowship so this was our first time meeting them! They have two sons. One is married and has two children… a 8 year old and a 1 year old. Boli is kinda quiet but he visits easily. Elizabeth is the sweetest thing ever. Have you ever been with someone that is so sweet and kind that you kinda feel a bull in the china shop around them. That’s how Elizabeth is. She kept calling me “seester.”We all went and sat on the church floor and had cha. We didn’t stay long because the guesthouse in Kaligonj kept calling Jared wondering when we were coming. A few weeks ago Doyle found a place called “Hunger Free World” guesthouse. They have been trying to find a better place to stay when they come to Boli’s once a month. CSI does have a small house rented but it doesn’t have electricity or running water most of the time, so Darrell thought it would be wise to find somewhere else to stay that’s better suited to the need! This guesthouse is ran by NGOS. 

 11/12: The night was OK. At one point I woke up to the sound of someone a few doors down having some gastric distress. We will leave it at that. Carl and Jared went and found a good restaurant that served breakfast. They bought some dim and ruti and brought it back to our room. We spread the food out and everyone grabbed some paper towels and bon appetite! Everyone had some sort of tale to tell about the previous night.😂 will we stay there again? The jury is out… After we were done eating we noticed there was a school on the main floor of the guesthouse! Probably 75 kids were all lined up in the courtyard doing their morning drills. They were doing some exercises and reciting something. We couldn’t understand what they were saying. We stood on the veranda and enjoyed the entertainment. Packed up and headed back to Boli’s. This time it was daylight so we could see our surroundings! Drove down some very narrow brick roads. It’s rice harvesting season now so everyone was busy laying their rice straw out on the road to dry. Any big open area is covered in rice stalks. Nothing to do but drive right over it. They don’t seem to mind. Also saw piles and piles of cow manure out drying on the edges of the road too. Noted some tobacco fields and pawn growing areas. It was neat to see their place in the light! Their yard is immaculate! They have a big outdoor kitchen, 2 houses and then the church. The whole yard looks like cement but it’s cow manure and water mixed together then it’s “painted” on. When it dries it hardens flat and smooth and is easy to sweep. Elizabeth has a bamboo fence up around the yard and lots of plants. Absolutely gorgeous. I told her I thought her yard was so beautiful and she seemed to find that humorous. They have the church building looking quite nice. However the decorations made us giggle. At the front behind the podium table was a big wooden cross with Christmas lights wrapped around it and then the curtains are white with red crosses stitched onto them! We sat and visited for awhile while the men went off to look at Boli’s rice fields. Elizabeth took Shana and I on a walk. She took us to her friends house that has a talking parrot. It kept saying “apnar nam ki?” (What is your name?) then it would say it’s name “Ritou, Ritou.” Shana and I just howled with laughter at it then it started imitating us and laughing back😂 we went and got the men and showed them this hilarious creature!!! They took us to have cha at a NGO organization down the road. Eventually we pulled ourselves away from there and got back in the van. Stuck our nose in the wind for Golpagang! Took about four hours to get there. Couldn’t find much to eat on the way there but eventually we found some fresh shingaras. We dropped our things off at Samuel Bella’s guesthouse. Layton and Jared went on to Doyle’s but Shania and I needed some rest and quiet time! Laid down and the next thing I knew Jared was telling me it was time for supper!Sandwiches were had by all. Didn’t stay too late at Doyle’s as everyone was ready for bed pretty early. It’s impossible to nap when you are on the road here, too much lurching and braking. 

 11/13: The men and Shana headed off to eye camp. It was about an hour away! Shana did the computer work and Jared, Doyle, Bruce, Carl and Linferd all had jobs too! They saw about 600 patients and at least 1000 showed up but they turned a lot away. The men got home around 5 and were absolutely starving because they had had no lunch. I made tacos for everyone and there was not much left! They all thought they were delicious. Made some CSI bars and those got gobbled up too. I enjoy cooking for hungry people! While the men were gone us ladies did our own thing. Sat and visited a lot. The children played in the water most of the morning so it was quite peaceful. Kinda interesting out of our big group, only Carl, Shana and I are Americans. All the rest were Canadians in some way shape or form! Was neat to be able to make connections and talk about people that everyone knew. 

 11/14: Had breakfast together and then packed up. As we were leaving Samuel’s guesthouse we met Nathon’s dad! He wanted us to come over but Jared told him when we are back in Golpaganj for revivals in January then we will stop in! I was struck by the saying on Samuel’s shirt “CHOSEN to be a testimony.” Gave me something to meditate on. Left Doyle’s around 10. Carls and Linferds stayed behind to go with Bruce’s back to Kulna. Our van felt quite empty and quiet after traveling with them the past few days! Shania was so over being around lots of people that as soon as we got in the van to leave she waved and waved at everyone saying “bye bye bye bye!” After all the twisty winding village roads we’ve been on past few days the road from Golpaganj to Dhaka felt like quite a dream. The traffic in the city was wonderful and we hardly stopped at all! Got to pink city around 2! Shana says she is ok if we dont get back in the van anytime soon.😂

 11/18: Jared had clinic and then went and met Doyle at the Padma Bridge. Picked up Carls and Linferds and brought them back into Dhaka. Shana and I made them all supper. They were very thankful for something that wasn’t spicy.😂 Just visited for quite awhile in the evening. Carl wondered if we would come back for a 2nd term. We told him that a 2nd term didn’t feel like an open door. We would really like to be home by the end of August so Layton can start 2nd grade at home but it all depends if there are replacements to be had or not! 

 11/19: Everyone came for breakfast. After breakfast we all piled in the van and headed to Farmgate. The ladies wanted to do some fabric shopping. However, I always forget that the fabric and tailor section is closed on Tuesdays! That was really disappointing because Shana and I both wanted to get some things, but that’s ok! We ended up just browsing through the part that was open which was still a fair bit. Found my children some winter Jammie’s which they were both plumb tickled about. (Update: my days of buying my children’s clothes at the market are over. The next day I washed them all. The athletic pants that Layton loves that I bought, shrank by at least 3 inches and my hoodie I bought the sleeves shrank by 4 inches. So no more market clothes. I was very frustrated.) We all went to KaWran Bazaar next. That’s where Jared goes to buy milk. I’ve always wanted to go there but Jared always says he thought it was too stinky and slimy for women to go to. Now it’s dry season so it’s not all muddy. We walked through the vegetable and fruit market, it’s designed more for wholesale. The vendors just throw any rotten or bad vegetables on the road or to the side and when the compost gets too much then a big loader comes through and scrapes it all off into a pile. Layton was not amused at the smell.😂 it wasn’t too bad. We went back behind the bazaar and walked along the train tracts for a ways. That was so neat to see all the tin shacks along there. Even most of them had electricity! Lots of women out cooking. I was surprised that we didn’t have more followers than what we did. Three trains came flying by while we were out there. It never gets old seeing the Dhaka trains. They are so stuffed full of people, inside and then on the roof and then some hanging on the back. Sometimes the young boys will be running along the top while the train flys along. Jared thinks the train goes around 50 mph? By this time we were all getting hungry so took rickshaws back to Farmgate and got cold cokes. We stopped at the jute store next. Found some dandy treasures and some presents for the people I love. Headed to the clinic and feasted on the most scrumptious fare. Josna made Carl boss beef biriyani and chicken curry. Biriyani is fast becoming my favorite Bangla food!! For sure with lots of lime juice squeezed on the top. Carl bought some tok and Misti doy. Doy is like a custard yogurt. The Tok is a lot like Greek yogurt and the Misti taste like a sweet pudding. Very good! I could tell my children were starting to get worn out and frazzled and so them and I quick ate and then we went back to the kitchen for some quiet time while everyone else ate. Shania took a 30 minute nap and Layton just sat in the corner and played one of his games on my phone. I’ve been finding if I give my children a break on days like today they are much more enduring. I was so proud of what troopers they are!!! After lunch the men dropped us ladies off at Danmondi Aarongs and they headed off to a coffee shop to meet Shurov (our Dhaka brother.) Us ladies shopped at Aarongs and then got CNGs and headed to Prezzie (a different coffee shop). We stayed there for awhile just relaxing and enjoying food and visiting. The men’s visits didn’t last super long. Shurov seemed abit softer than last year when Carl visited him. He admitted that he does miss coming to church. We all came back to pink city and rested for 2 hours. Had Shania nap again and Layton had some quiet time. Around 7:30, we packed up Carls and Linferds things and headed for Gulsan. We were all enthused about going to Farmhouse Burger for supper. Traffic was pretty thick and jammed up so it took us an hour or more just to get to the first Gulsan intersection. So we ended up just turning around and heading for the airport to drop them off. It’s always sad to see visitors leave! My children will miss their new grandparents🥰 We headed home and just had snacks for supper then we all flopped into our beds!

 11/21: Jared spent most of the afternoon and evening getting the old Kulna van sold. One of Hridoys friends came and bought it. As is usual here in this culture, it was quite a long and drawn out process but by 7 the deal was closed and the van was driving out of Pink City!

 11/28: Happy Thanksgiving! 🍁🦃 No school today! Shana and I cooked almost all day. We had a lot of fun cooking. We decided to go all out for Thanksgiving and make all our favorite foods. Made chicken and gravy, mashed potatoes, Mac n cheese, deviled eggs, canned cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, pecan pie, chocolate pie, apple pie and pumpkin pie. Mavis and Krystle brought butter horns, cauliflower salad, sweet tea, apple cider, sweet potatoes casserole. Shana and I were quite proud of our homesteading cooking.😂 the green bean casserole we made cream of mushroom soup from scratch and plus the French fried onions were “scratch” like Layton says. Then Shana wanted relish in the deviled eggs so she carefully cut up pickles. So there you have it… CSI homesteaders, stay tuned. We invited Josna and Sumita and Nathon. Nathon was busy with a friend’s wedding so he couldn’t come. We all ate plenty, I think that’s goes without saying. It was so so good to have American holiday food again. Josna and Sumita kept counting all the different piles of food on their plate to see how many different kinds there were. They seemed to really enjoy it. I sent some pie home with them later on. 11/29: Well our morning was quite interesting! A few weeks ago one of Nathon’s friends that is a pastor at a Baptist church in Tongi asked Jared if he could come and speak on a Bible verse at a youth program. Jared wasn’t so sure but the other CSI men gave him the go ahead so he decided it was probably ok. Got to the Baptist church in Tongi a lot sooner than we thought. Only took 20 minutes to get there. Never know how the traffic will be and the area we were driving through is always jammed up pretty bad so it was a pleasant surprise that we got there so quick. Right after we got there the younger children were having “Sunday school” or some type of activity. Dancing to Jingle Bells. Shana and the children and I went and watched. Looked like organized chaos. Shania wanted to dance along with them!. The big girls all wanted to hold Shania but she wasn’t so sure about it. After awhile, they called us to go to the upstairs of the building and Nathon had the youth group playing some hilarious games with plastic cups. The event was called “youth refuel day.” The schedule was kinda interesting it had been going since 8 in the morning. Jared, myself, Shana and the children all had to go up front and get introduced and then they handed us all flowers.🤣felt a little out of my comfort zone. Jared gave his talk. He talked abit about why we are here and who we work for. They wanted him to speak on “abhore that which is evil and cling to that which is good.” Nathon interpreted for him. After the sermon, they got out their guitar and the leader sang a song while Nathon played the drums. They were taking a lunch break then. They invited us to stay for lunch but Shania was getting so fussy so we ended up leaving. Hope that wasn’t too rude. That church is nice. It would work perfect for revivals if we ever hosted them in Dhaka. The “sanctuary” had lots of fans in it and a big speaker system, plus a pull down projector screen that they had the songs on.They had cooks there too that were making chicken and egg curry. Nathon had told Jared about this church awhile ago so it was nice to see it. He goes there and helps with their programs occasionally. Came home for pie and pizza and naps. 

 Clinic update: It’s a busy place I tell you! Last month one day Jared saw 50 in one morning, another day he had to turn away at least 20. Thus the reason we didn’t feel bad closing down clinic for a week last month to go to Kuakata. You might wonder, “well isn’t it good to have such high numbers and isn’t it good to see as many patients as possible?” Yes and no. Our clinic facility is quite small. We have a 10x12 room where Miriam, Dr Elizabeth and Jared see the patients. One patient at a time is allowed into the room. The area where the patients wait is a long narrow hallway. Otherwise they have to wait on the street. If too many people come, these Bengalis extinctively soon get the mob affect. Pushing, shoving, butting in front of the other, yelling about how their problem is worse than the person in front of them and so on. It’s like Michael from Rajshahi explained it to Jared once. “In Bangladesh if there is not order at the clinics, you soon have 10 patients in the room, 10 patients around the doctors neck and 10 more in the hallway.” If we were able to run the clinic like a drs office at home yes we could see more, but these people cannot comprehend that style of order. This is why Golpaganj and Kulna no longer do clinics only eye camps. Things get out of control so fast and it’s impossible to regain order once chaos has started. Miriam keeps order at our clinic! She is serious about it too. If someone stands in the room too long after Jared helps them she says “Boss has given you enough money, you should be thankful.” And she sends them on. She has a heart of gold for the patients but she is very firm with them too. So every so often we shut the clinic down and the numbers go down for awhile. We very easily meet our quota from the NGO buero so this is no issue. One day Jared said a man came running in off the street and came inside the clinic yelling “there’s an emergency we need the doctor.” They told him that we are not an urgent care and plus Dr Elizabeth doesn’t go see other patients while she is at the clinic, the guy would not leave and became more and more obnoxious. Finally Jared just looked at him and said “do we need the police?” The guy quieted right down and left. Another day a mom brought her 15 year old girl in. This girl comes in a lot and Jared always thought she was normal, but this day that she came in it was very evident that she was NOT normal. She kept hitting her mom, pulling her mom’s hair and being a mess. She kept trying to grab the drs notes from Jared and just fixated on it. Jared said “if she wants the paper so bad let her have it maybe she will calm down.” Her mom said “no she will rip it up.” The girl got so worked up Jared didn’t know what to do. He thought about taking her outside so she wasn’t so disruptive and so the mom could finish up her things but it’s inappropriate for a man to do that so finally they just got business taken care of and the mom could take the girl home. The conjoined twins have officially been separated! One remains in ICU and the other is out of the ICU and is able to drink milk on her own. The dad comes and gets milk every so often. They shared a liver and some intestines and also some a major vein or artery I forget which.

 Shania’s latest game is: “how many cats and dogs can we find?” Now that it is cooler she loves to be outside all the time. She goes to the door and begs to go out. In the mornings when Layton and Shana are at school, I put her in the stroller and her and I walk up and down all the streets in Pink City looking for cats and dogs to meow and bark at!😂 I enjoy it! It takes about an hour an she is quite content in her stroller. Plus it gives me exercise! You should try it sometime, meowing at any cat you see… it’s a lot of fun. Decreases adult cares and worries. Layton giggled because I told him we were being “thing finders.” (Pippi Long-stocking) Shania had kinda a rough week the past week. Her last molar plus two other teeth are trying to poke up through which has caused the young lady alot of emotional anguish. I am very ready to be done with this teething season. One day in particular when she was especially fussy and clingy Layton sighed and said “mom, it looks like getting teeth is alot more work than just loosing them.”🤣 she is picking up new words at an astonishing rate! She would love outside in the dirt if we let her. Don’t worry, dewormer is always on hand.🤭we are really careful with not letting dogs into our yard so not too worried about it. 

 Layton is busy as usual. Rollerblading and playing games with dad are his two current favorite past times. He is enthused about music class now. He came home one day and said “Mom, did you know there is two Dos in music.?” He especially likes the song “My Homes in Montana.” One day he said “there’s a thing in your ear that vibrates and it sends the noises up to your brain, sometimes like when you’re on a tractor or something, it vibrates too much and allows too much noise to go up to your brain and that’s why it’s so loud.” I’m so thankful he enjoys school. We could not have asked for a better teacher!🩷 He gets quite worried at times about “Kansas school.” So Shana has been explaining to him how it works and what you all do at school and it has eased his fears quite abit. He remembers the big playground set and the gym so we capitalize on the fun he will have at recess with Kobe, Silas and Kenyon. Layton has made some new friends lately. One day one of them was over playing. I overheard Layton ask him “what do you do when the power goes out while your praying at the mosque? How do you hear the prayer call? Do you have to wait to finish your prayers until the electricity comes back on?”🤣 Then a few days earlier he had come running inside all worked up. “Mom that boy told me I should be a Muslim.” Shana said “don’t forget that you’re a Christian and you’ll be ok.” He’s been spending a lot of time playing badminton and soccer with his new friends. Of course as soon as the 5pm prayer call goes all games are over for the evening. In the afternoons one of his friends comes over and him and Layton sift dirt. They use my good colander and gravy ladle too. I’m just so thankful that he is playing with other children that I don’t put up a fuss about my kitchen ending up outdoors except I did make a noise when the colander got a big dent in the side. I’m not sure what is so appealing about this particular behavior. It reminds me somewhat of “Beezus and Ramona.” Ramona and Howie playing brick factory. Pounding bricks for no particular reason. Sometimes Aarobs older sister comes too and her and I play badminton. I love badminton and it’s fun to do something other than housework.